David O. Russell... at it again! (Nailed)

[Boner M]

James Caan has quit director David O. Russell's political comedy Nailed after a dispute that ended with the actor storming off the set. The flare-up reportedly started last week while Caan shot scenes of his character, a U.S. Speaker of the House, choking to death on a cookie. Russell told Caan to cough and choke, but Caan argued that a person can't both cough and choke to death at the same time. He reportedly left after Russell insisted they shoot the scene both ways, expressing concern that the choking version would be used in the final edit. Caan's publicist wouldn't confirm the story but did say that the actor left due to creative differences and that the split was amicable. The part will be recast.

The I Heart Huckabees director is known for on-set freakouts, well documented in video clips that circulated the Internet last year showing him blowing up at Huckabees star Lily Tomlin. He also had differences with George Clooney, who starred in the Russell-directed Three Kings.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20194500,00.html

Wow... I wonder how Jessica Biel (also part of the cast) is gonna cope?

[Ezee E]

Well... Caan is right. You try to cough and choke at the same time. It doesn't make any sense.

I really wish I could see footage of Clooney and Russell at it. The commentary on Three Kings is just bizarre to listen to.

It's a shame, because Russell is a great director. After this, he might not even get a chance to make future movies.

[MadMan]

Honestly how many directors have fought with their cast members? I know that in this age of info we can easily find it out, but imagine back in the old days when we didn't hear about every single onset spat. I'm pretty sure it happened back then. That said, I do worry that this will affect Russell's ability to get more projects. I love Three Kings and I think that I Heart Huckabees is a great film.

[Raiders]

Yeah, Russell's future really does need him to be a little more allowing of actor's concerns. Caan is absolutely right. You cannot cough and choke at the same time. If you're coughing, air is getting through and you aren't choking.

[DavidSeven]

Well, Russell is the director. It seems kind of unreasonable that Caan wouldn't at least try it his way. I mean, it's Russell's vision, and this is a comedy, not a medical drama. One of George C. Scott's most memorable performances (Dr. Strangelove) was made up of takes that he supposedly hated.

But then again, Russell was probably just being an asshat.

[Sycophant]

I like Russell. But he is kind of an asshat.

[Doclop]

Whatever. Caan seems fairly replaceable to me. Just hope Russell can keep it together enough to pull off the flick.

[Sxottlan]

I read in a different article about this that said Russell tried to be accommodating and offered to shoot it two different ways, but by then Caan wouldn't have it. So it sounded like it was more on Caan than Russell.

[Kurosawa Fan]

In the context of this article, I think Caan comes off looking worse than Russell. It's not his choice how the scene is played. If he wants to do things his way, have him get behind a camera and direct. And like D7 said, it's a comedy. It doesn't have to be accurate. The scene was probably being played for laughs.

However, knowing Russell, I'm sure this wasn't their first run-in. This was probably just the final straw for Caan. Russell had better seriously get control of himself, otherwise he's going to have a very hard time finding actors for his projects.

[DSNT]

I Heart David O. Russell's temper.

He's shooting this flick here in Columbia. Maybe I can find and heckle him.

[D_Davis]

What bugs me most about situations like is is that there are people out there who believe that they've somehow earned the right to act like jerk towards other people. Whether it's Caan thinking that he is somehow above trying things a new way, or it's Russell thinking that his artistic intentions are so genius that he has the final word, it all disgusts me.

I've seen this happen to people like lawyers, real estate brokers, record producers, A&R people, and so one. That as a society we put up with people who end up this ugly and disgusting because "it's just the way they are," or "they're rich", or "they're artists," or "they've earned the right," says a lot about where our priorities are. It's pretty sad.

I have no time for people like this. Adult-babies is all they are, and our culture enables them.

[Grouchy]

Caan seems fairly replaceable to me.
Huh, any actor is replaceable, I guess, but why say this about Caan? He's great.

Anyway, like MadMan says, the internet has made this kind of stuff public domain, but back in the Hollywood days, this kind of run-in between actor star and megadirector happened all the time. Hitchcock had them with Ingrid Bergman and Paul Newman, Billy Wilder with Spencer Tracy and I imagine Fritz Lang must have pissed off half of L.A.

[shaun]

Silently watching someone die from lack of oxygen probably doesn't hit the right comedic notes for a scene involving a politician's death via cookie.

I side with Russell, even if he is a bit of a bastard.

[origami_mustache]

sigh Russell is an idiot.

[DavidSeven]

More problems:


The political indie comedy Nailed has been shut down for a third time due to financial problems, Variety reports.

The film's crew were ordered by the International Alliance of Theatrical & Stage Employees (IATSE) guild not to come to work last Thursday after they weren't paid.

Production was initially halted on May 9 when the movie's backer Capitol Films failed to deposit enough money into SAG (Screen Actors Guild) accounts to pay the cast. Six days later, IATSE members stopped filming for a second time after not getting paid.

David Bergstein, head of Capitol Films, had previously stated that the company was financially secure despite rumours of unpaid bills and lawsuits.

Nailed - directed by David O. Russell and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, Catherine Keener and James Marsden - revolves around a waitress who becomes wildly unpredictable after being shot in the head with a nail. She heads to Washington to fight for the rights of people with similar bizarre injuries.

[Wryan]

Who doesn't become wildly unpredictable after being shot in the head with a nail?

[Mara]

Who doesn't become wildly unpredictable after being shot in the head with a nail?

Those who die from it. Dead people have many less-than-admirable qualities, but they sure are predictable.

[Wryan]

Those who die from it. Dead people have many less-than-admirable qualities, but they sure are predictable.

David O. Russell has clearly proven that people cannot die from being shot in the head with a nail.

[Russ]

'Nailed' nails a PG-13 rating (http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/coming-soon-to-a-theatre-near-you-david-o-russells-nailed-gets-rated-by-mpaa-plus-more-pics-from-the-film-20131106)

I thought we had heard the last of this. Guess not.

[MadMan]

This thread is so old it has several posters making posts in it who sadly don't post here anymore.


Anyway, like MadMan says, the internet has made this kind of stuff public domain, but back in the Hollywood days, this kind of run-in between actor star and megadirector happened all the time. Hitchcock had them with Ingrid Bergman and Paul Newman, Billy Wilder with Spencer Tracy and I imagine Fritz Lang must have pissed off half of L.A.I must have not checked back to see this post. That last part makes me laugh a lot.